FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) — The Fresno Planning Commission approved the Southeast Development Area Specific Plan 6-1 on Wednesday, Aug. 19.
Hundreds of Fresno County neighbors packed Fresno City Hall during the meeting.
Hundreds of Fresno County neighbors packed Fresno City Hall during the meeting (PHOTO: MADISON WILBER).
Over 40 people spoke during public comment, five spoke in support of the SEDA project and the rest spoke against it.
“We want to absorb everyone who wants to live here, we don’t want to shut out anyone who wants to live in Fresno,” Jennifer Clark, Fresno planning director, said.
SEDA is a long-term planning proposal that could ultimately reshape the city by converting roughly 9,000 acres of farmland into housing, commercial, and industrial development if approved.
Those against the plan argue that there are issues in Fresno that should be fixed and focused on before money is spent to expand the city.
“I don’t want to be a part of a broken city. The West area has development that has started and ended. They’ve got broken sidewalks that kids are walking through to school. It’s a safety concern,” Brett Thompson, a Fresno farmer, said. “What they’re offering is not what we want.”
Multiple questions regarding the budget of the plan and fiscal reports were asked during the meeting.
“(Budgets) still haven’t been released. The public hasn’t seen them. The planning commissioners have not seen the reports,” Thompson said. “we’ve asked. I put in public records requests, requesting them and been told I’m not privileged to get that information.”
In a city council meeting in December 2025, Mayor Jerry Dyer stressed that developers, not taxpayers, would pay for infrastructure such as water and sewer connections.
[RELATED] High turnout at Fresno City Hall over Southeast Development Area Plan discussion
“I empathize with those folks,” Dyer said in December. “I’m suggesting that as part of this study, a community benefits fund be considered to ensure that residents do not bear the burden of those costs.”
A financial report that was released in May 2025 by the city states Phase One of the SEDA project would cost around $7.4 billion.
To watch the Fresno Planning Commission Meeting, click HERE.
To watch the Fresno City Council Meeting from December 2025, click HERE.